Where will you be in 5 years? In 3 years? The end of this year? How about end of the week?

Many say that all you have to do is accomplish something today toward your goals and eventually you will get there. Sounds good. Right? So we all spend a lot of time tying to figure out what it is that we really want. Goals. We spend time figuring out what we want in life, and try to keep on the straight and narrow and daily doing something to try and achieve them.

But we don’t quite make make it. Things that should take a couple of months end up being a year, or even two. As humans we procrastinate. It’s always something. Too busy. Family demands. Circumstances beyond our control. Getting sick. Unforeseen issues arise. We are the master of excuses.

Now all of these things when it comes down to it, are really important, and they certainly effect our actions. But we don’t always have to let them. We are taught this about life. We are taught that we set our goals way to high and in a too little time frame. That our first distraction then become the excuse. We all do it. It’s human nature. That is what we think is the truth.

But we never plan for those distractions. We need to start doing just that. What I like to do is reflect on something called the Pareto Principle. The Pareto Principal is the 80-20 Rule. It states that a persons results in their endeavors come from 20% of their effort. This doesn’t mean we should only care about 20% of what we do, it’s just what happens with our efforts.

The other thing to reflect on is something called the Parkinson’s Law. It states that effort to fulfill goals will expand so as to fill the time available for its completion. Remember finishing the college papers in the last minute? If you know the deadline, you’ll “get er done” in the time you allotted to complete.

So think about this. Knowing that 20% of your effort in something is responsible to create the results you seek, why not use Parkinson’s Law to condense your deadline. Like getting a ton of stuff done in a short while. Who creates the deadlines to get things done? You do. Think about it, if there is something you truly desire, wouldn’t you want it to happen quickly?

There are naysayers that say that you shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew. There are those who say “You can’t do that”. I say, “Says who?”

Take something you are working on and condense your timeline. Try it. Condense it much more than you think you are capable of. Think and imagine what it will feel like when it is completed. Now you may not finish it exactly when you plan it to be done, but I’ll bet you one thing. If it’s completion is something that will make you a better person, make you more income, make life more fulfilling, it will get done faster.

As I write this, I have a full time job. I’m launching a website. I have a business that is expanding. I’ve started writing almost daily. How am I doing it? I’m using Pareto and Parkinson‘s law.